About this episode

The episode discusses retroactive jealousy and its connection to anxious attachment and low self-worth.

In today's episode, we're talking about retroactive jealousy — being an excessive preoccupation with a partner's romantic and/or sexual history, and feelings of intense insecurity and comparison as a result. This is a really common experience (one I used to struggle with myself!), particularly among those with anxious attachment patterns who already experience a hypervigilance to perceived relational threats coupled with low self-esteem and a fear of abandonment. We'll talk about how retroactive jealousy is often a branch off the "unworthiness" tree, and why starting there — with tending to our low self-worth — is often the fix. Links Free resources for healing anxious attachment Follow me on Instagram Subscribe to my YouTube channel

People in this episode

Host: Stephanie Rigg

Topics covered

• retroactive jealousy
• anxious attachment
• self-worth
• relationship insecurity
• comparison
• fear of abandonment

Keywords

• jealousy
• partner's past
• romantic history
• sexual history
• insecurity
• attachment patterns
• self-esteem
• abandonment

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• #276: Attachment & Conflict (Part 4): Repairing After Relationship Rupture · August 4, 2026 · 22 min
• #275: Why You Can't Get Over Your Ex · July 29, 2026 · 22 min
• #274: Attachment & Conflict (Part 3): How to Experience Healthier Conflict · July 21, 2026 · 33 min

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